bomba container carrying an explosive charge that is fused to detonate under certain conditions (as upon impact) and that is either dropped (as from an airplane) or set into position at a given point. In military science, the term “aerial bomb” or “bomb” denotes a container dropped from an aircraft and designed to cause destruction by the detonation of a high-explosive bursting charge or incendiary or other material. Bombs differ from artillery shells, missiles, and torpedoes in that the latter are all propelled through the air or water by a man-made agency, while bombs travel to their targets through the force of gravity alone. A major distinction must also be made between conventional bombs and atomic and thermonuclear bombs, which have a far greater destructive capacity. (See atomic bomb; thermonuclear bomb.)

Conventional bomb types

The typical conventional bomb is a streamlined cylinder that consists of five major parts: an outer casing, the inner explosive material, devices such as fins to stabilize the bomb in flight, one or more fuzes to ignite the bomb’s main charge, and a mechanism for arming the fuze or preparing it to explode. The outer case is most commonly made of metal and has a point at its tip, or nose. The explosive charge in most conventional bombs usually consists of TNT, RDX, ammonium nitrate, or other high explosives in combination with each other. The fin assembly at the tail end of the bomb enables it to fall through the air nose-first, by the same principle as the feathers on an arrow.

Bombs can be classified according to their use and the explosive material they contain. Among the most common types are blast (demolition), fragmentation, general purpose, antiarmour (armour-piercing), and incendiary (fire) bombs. Demolition bombs rely on the force of the blast to destroy buildings and other structures. They are usually fitted with a time-delay fuze, so that the bomb explodes only after it has smashed through several floors and is deep inside the target building. Fragmentation bombs, by contrast, explode into a mass of small, fast-moving metal fragments that are lethal against personnel. The bomb case consists of wire wound around an explosive charge. General-purpose bombs combine the effects of both blast and fragmentation and hence can be used against a wide variety of targets. They are probably the commonest type of bomb used. Armour-piercing bombs have a thick case and a pointed tip and are used to penetrate armoured or hardened targets such as warships and bunkers. Bombs of the aforementioned types generally range in size from 100 to 3,000 pounds (45 to 1,360 kg). The largest bomb ever regularly used was the British “Grand Slam” type, which weighed 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg) and was used in World War II.

Incendiary bombs are of two main types. The burning material of the intensive type is thermite, a mixture of aluminum powder and iron oxide that burns at a very high temperature. The casing of such a bomb is composed of magnesium, a metal that itself burns at a high temperature when ignited by thermite. Intensive-type incendiaries are designed to set buildings afire by their intense heat. The other type of incendiary bomb is a thin-walled container of napalm, or jellied gasoline, that is used against personnel, vehicles, and flammable installations. The napalm spreads over a wide area, sticks to whatever it falls upon, and burns for a long time. Modern mixtures of napalm consist of gasoline, benzene, and a polystyrene thickener.

All of the aforementioned bomb types were used in World War II. Newer types include cluster and fuel-air explosive (FAE) bombs. Cluster bombs consist of an outer casing containing dozens of small bomblets; the casing splits open in midair, releasing a shower of bomblets that explode upon impact. Cluster bombs have both fragmentation and antiarmour capabilities. Fuel-air explosives FAEs are designed to release a cloud of explosive vapour a short distance above the ground; the violent combustion of this fuel creates an overpressure that can detonate buried enemy mines, thus clearing the way for a ground advance. Cluster bombs and FAEs have drawn criticism from those who argue that unexploded bomblets present a lethal risk to civilians long after a conflict has ended. Efforts to ban these weapons resulted in the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits all use, stockpiling, and production of cluster munitions by ratifying countries; it went into force in August 2010.

Guidance and arming

Aiming bombs has always been the most challenging part of aerial bombing, since the bomber must choose a point at which to release the bomb from a moving aircraft so that its trajectory intersects a target on the ground. The paths traversed by the plane and the bomb can be calculated mathematically, but the person who releases the bomb must act within seconds. The use of mechanical and radio targeting devices by a specially trained aircraft crewman called a bombardier solved this problem during World War II.

Smart, or homing, bombs can be guided to their targets with an even higher degree of accuracy. Such bombs are fitted with small wings and adjustable fins that give the bomb some in-flight maneuverability by means of gliding. The bomb’s nose is fitted with a small laser or TV-camera guidance system which provides data on the target’s location to a computer, which then sends signals to actuators that adjust the bomb’s wing and fin surfaces as needed to keep the bomb on track to the target. In the laser system, a beam of laser light is directed at the target from an aircraft, and the bomb’s laser sensors pick up the reflected beam and follow it down to the target. A TV-guidance unit fitted onto a bomb is locked onto the target by an aircraft and then transmits continuous pictures of the target either to a computer in the bomb or to the aircraft crew, either of whom can guide the bomb directly onto its target.

Several types of fuzes are used in bombs. Impact fuzes, historically the most common type, are set in the bomb’s nose and detonate upon impact, setting off the main charge. A time fuze, by contrast, acts after a controlled delay. Another type, the proximity fuze, senses when a target is close enough to be destroyed by the bomb’s explosion. The sensor is typically a small radar set that sends out signals and listens for their reflections from nearby objects. Most bomb fuzes are armed at the moment of the bomb’s release from the aircraft, or just before, so that fuzed bombs cannot explode while being loaded or while being transported to their target. This last-moment arming is achieved by simple mechanical means, most commonly a small pinwheel on the bomb that turns as the air rushes past the falling projectile, and thereby arms the fuze.

Bombs first assumed military importance with the rapid development of zeppelins and aircraft in World War I, but the tonnages dropped in that conflict were insignificant, largely because the carrying capacity of the aircraft was so small. World War II saw the use of larger bombs in much greater numbers; more than 1.5 million tons of bombs were dropped by the Allies on Germany alone. Similar tonnages of bombs were used by the United States in the Korean and Vietnam wars, but by the time of the Persian Gulf War (1990), tonnages had dropped owing to the increased use of highly accurate smart bombs.